NaVi to SL i-League Invitational #3 Minor

Natus Vincere will take part in the first Minor of the season, SL i-League Invitational #3, thanks to a decisive victory in the CIS qualifiers against Team Spirit.

The new NaVi's roster brought home the first results qualifying for SL Invitational #3 after an almost uncontested road to victory. They defeated Gambit Esports and Team Empire, losing only one game, but Team Spirit blocked them in the winners’ finals with a 2 to 1 score.

The Ukraine team proceeded defeating Spartak Esports in the lower bracket, and colliding again against Team Spirit in the grand finals. The Bo3 ended 2-0, and featured an epic comeback in the second match.

NaVi vs Team Spirit Bo3 recap

Team Spirit’s captain Alexander "DkPhobos" Kucheria played in the mid lane with a dps Broodmother. He ended up being the hero with the most last hits and kills in the match, but his domain ended as soon as NaVi bought the proper items to counter him - such as Necrophos with Radiance and Shiva’s Guard.

Overall, NaVi maintained the lead at practically all stages of the game, and from 25 minutes onwards they kept winning most of the team fights with almost no losses.

Game One - Image: Dotabuff

In game two we saw a spectacular Danil "Dendi" Ishutin on Zeus, full-slotted with a 16-4-24 score. Multiple ganks took place on the map, and Team Spirit gradually got the game in their hands - at 43 minutes they achieved a 15k net worth advantage.

A miraculous comeback, led by Dendi and Vladislav "Crystallize" Krystanek on an unstoppable Phantom Lancer, brought to multiple consecutive team-wipes at 50, 53 and 57 minutes. Only Night Stalker was able to survive in these fights, but he couldn’t stop NaVi from destroying their towers and barracks.

After one hour, Team Spirit lost their lead, and Natus Vincere won the match with a 41:45 score.

Game Two - Image: Dotabuff

SL i-League Invitational #3 will take place from October 12 to 15 in Kiev, NaVi’s home.

Yesterday, also Mineski earned the right to participate in the Minor, with a 8-0 victory in the SEA qualifiers.

Vincenzo is an esports writer with five years of experience. Former head editor for Natus Vincere, he has produced content for DreamHack, FACEIT, DOTAFire, 2P, and more. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.